Ford Increases Virtual Crash Computing Power

• Ford is
increasing its investment in computing power by 50 percent
to maximize the number and speed of virtual vehicle crashes,
allowing safety engineering and vehicle evaluation teams to
get more data, more quickly

• More than 2 million
crash test simulations processed in past 10 years

•
Actual crash testing is also vital to ensuring the safety of
Ford vehicles; Dearborn, Mich., facility has performed more
than 20,000 crash tests since 1954, with more than 31,000
crash tests executed globally

To facilitate growing demands for
virtual crash test data, Ford is increasing its investment
in computing power an additional 50 percent this year.

The
technology investment will allow Ford to more quickly
conduct virtual crash tests – some of which can take up to
a full day to run – while also collecting more data. More
than 2 million crash test simulations have been run over the
past 10 years. The use of advanced computer crash test
models also allows Ford safety teams to more quickly
evaluate and verify a variety of designs.

Ford recently
performed its 20,000th full-vehicle crash test at the
Dearborn, Mich., development center. Physical crash tests,
combined with virtual crash testing, allow Ford to gather
more safety data faster than ever before. The work helps to
ensure Ford vehicles meet or exceed industry safety
standards in the global markets in which they are
sold.

“Today’s vehicles come in a greater variety
of body styles, and have more technology and driver-assist
features – and many countries have unique regulations,”
said Steve Kenner, global director, Ford automotive safety
office. “We are able to manage this workload efficiently
thanks to our significant investment in technology and the
hard work of our teams.”

More than 500 engineers around
the world are dedicated to safety at Ford. These teams run
thousands of computer simulations before the physical tests
are conducted, including frontal impact, side impact, rear
impact, roof strength and safety systems checks.

“Ford
is committed to designing vehicles that are safe for our
customers,” said Nand Kochhar, Ford global safety chief
engineer. “In the early stages of vehicle design, we use
computer simulations; later we use crash test verification
to ensure our vehicles perform as expected.”

The
company’s investment in computing power has led to a
tenfold increase in the number of virtual crash tests Ford
can conduct during vehicle development. The level of detail
on the models has increased as well. Safety teams can now
run full-vehicle crash simulations with up to 2 million
elements, up from half a million just five years
ago.

Full-vehicle crash testsFord
performed its first crash test in 1954. In the 60 years Ford
has been conducting crash tests, technology has advanced to
allow an increased number of vehicles to be tested. The
company’s crash barrier facility can be adapted to perform
a wide variety of vehicle crash tests, including frontal,
side and rear impact tests where restraints and airbag
systems are evaluated. Tests are performed at speeds ranging
from less than 20 mph to more than 55 mph.

Vehicle
preparation for these physical tests can take from a few
days to a few weeks, depending on test complexity. Vehicles
are fitted with special mounts, cameras and sensors.
On-board systems capture up to 300 channels of information,
including crash forces, displacement and
pressure.

After the full-vehicle crash test, the team
at the crash facility can provide safety engineers a wide
range of crash data in under 30 minutes.

History
of crash testing at FordFord’s first crash
test was performed in 1954. It took 40 years to do the first
10,000 full-body crash tests and only 20 years for the
second 10,000 at the facility in Michigan. Globally, Ford
has completed more than 31,000 physical crash tests at labs
located in Dearborn, Mich., Merkenich, Germany; Geelong,
Australia; and Tatui,
Brazil.

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